A Minty Adventure
by CapitanTreble
Summary: What if King Of Ooo wanted a butler, and decided to take Peppermint Butler? Just a small, non-canon story I wrote. No idea if there will be any pairings, maybe hints of BubblinexMarcelinexFinn? This is my first story and I will try to make it as interesting as I can.
1. Chapter 1

*I do not own or claim to own adventure time, and I am new to this site. I'm sorry if I make any errors, but I don't know how this site works yet. I will try to update it whenever I can and try to fix my mistakes. Please let me know if you think I should continue the story.

This story is based on the question 'What if King of Ooo wanted a butler'. Its supposed to take place before Stakes and sometime after King of Ooo is elected Princess of the candy kingdom.

Chapter One

—

King of Ooo was relaxing in front of his fireplace up in his room in the candy castle's tower. He reaches over to grab his drink, but it was too far away and his fingers only brush the glass. He grumbles something underneath his breath as he struggles to reach the glass, irritated when he has to shift from his comfortable position to finally be able to grab it.

"Ah, nothing like a warm drink in front of a fire." The King sighs before taking a sip out of the glass before abruptly spitting it out again and gagging. His drink was _cold_. He sets the drink down, but the glass wobbles and spills all over his freshly cleaned royal robes. He's even more angry when he can't get comfortable again on his couch in front of the fire. He stands up and paces around sulkily, stopping at the tower window overlooking the Candy Kingdom.

_I need someone who can make me a fresh cup of tea and keep it warm. Someone who can bring my cup to me when I don't want to get up.. someone to clean up all the messes I make when I spill something. _The King Of Ooo thought to himself, staring at the walls of the city, then he shifted his eyes to the Candy citizens who are out late and heading home below him. Then he had an idea. "I know! I'll hire a butler! Then he can take care of everything for me! And there are probably dozens of citizens just dying to serve their wonderful princess!"

The king steps away from the window with a smile and plans to make the announcement the very next day, after he's had a good night's rest.

—At Bubblegum's Cabin—

While the King Of Ooo was getting ready to go to bed in the castle, in former Princess Bubblegum's small cabin by the butterscotch lake, Bubblegum had just finished what had turned out to be an explosively sticky experiment, and was recording the results on a sheet of paper.

"Your tea, Princess." Peppermint Butler says, skillfully climbing down the ladder with a tray balanced on one hand.

"Thanks, Peps. Could you clean up here? I'm going to drink this and go to bed." Bubblegums says, taking the teacup off of the tray.

"Of course." The Peppermint replies loyally as PB hangs up her lab coat and goggles. "Don't worry about a thing, Princess. I will have cleaned it all up by morning."

"Thanks again, Peps," Bubblegum gives him a tired smile. She starts climbing the metal rung ladder that leads to the cabin above. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Peppermint butler brightens a little at her praise, and Bubblegum smiles at this before disappearing up the ladder.

Peppermint butler heads to the lab's broom closet and pulls out a bucket and a mop to clean up the sticky green mess. As he's heading to get water, Peps spies some notes on the desk and leans over to look at them.

_Hmm. She's been working on the cure for Vampirism again. I thought she gave that up a hundred years ago.._ The butler thinks. He sighs and climbs the ladder, making sure the bucket doesn't hit the rings and make a loud noise that might disturb Bubblegum.

He quietly exits the house and walks to the well. He attaches the well's rope onto the bucket securely and lowers it until he hears it hit water. While he's pulling it up, he feels something brush against one of his legs. He sidesteps and continues pulling the bucket up when he feels something grab his ankle and lift him up into the air.

"Let me go!" He struggles, hanging upside down in the air. There's a familiar laugh and then Marceline appears.

"Relax, Pep But. It's just me." Marceline sets the butler down and he gets up, brushing himself off indignantly.

"Miss Marceline." Peps huffs his greeting.

"Is PB up to anything right now?" Marceline asks him.

"The Princess is resting and I must request that you don't disturb her. However, you are welcome to come back later at a better time.." Peppermint Butler replies, pulling the water bucket up and carrying it to the house, leaving Marceline floating by the well.

"Oh. Okay then!" Marceline shouts to him, and disappears again.

Peps grumbles something as he sneaks back down the ladder to the lab. He grabs his mop and sets the bucket down. He starts to clean the mess off the floor. The green goop is sticky, and makes it hard for him to walk when he accidentally steps in it. He frowns, but ignores this, determined to keep his promise to have the mess cleaned up by morning.

Meanwhile, Marceline is sitting on the roof of the cabin, thinking about what she should do. Bubblegum's butler wouldn't let her near PB while the former princess was resting. She shrugs and then starts floating towards Finn and Jake's treehouse. She'd visit PB during the daytime, when she'd be awake.


	2. Chapter 2

Not all the chapters will be added and posted as fast as this one, but I'm trying to keep to my promise that I will post the new chapters whenever I can. I'm sorry that these chapters are short, so maybe the next few will be longer..? I don't know. We'll just have to see what happens. I am also going to start calling the King of Ooo "Koo" for short, you might think thats being lazy, but I couldn't wait to upload this chapter. Also, I'm sorry about all the jumping around from character to character, it will probably get better later.

-Chapter 2-

It had taken Peppermint Butler almost all night to clean the lab, but, nevertheless, he was already up and making tea for Bubblegum when she entered the kitchen, dressed in her pink hoodie with her hair up in a ponytail.

"Morning, Peps." Bubblegum yawns.

"Good morning! What would you like for breakfast, Princess?" The butler asks.

"The usual." Bubblegum replies. "I need to go into town today to get some supplies."

"I can do that for you." Peps suggests helpfully, taking the eggs out of the fridge and grabbing a frying pan. He turns on the stove and pours PB some tea.

"No, it's okay. I can do it." Bubblegum shrugs, taking the tea from Peppermint Butler. "Or I could send Finn and Jake."

"Hey! Peebes!" Marceline calls, hovering in front of one of the windows. She's wearing her daytime clothes and sun hat. With white gloves that reach almost to her shoulders.

"Marcy?" Bubblegum asks, opening the window to let the vampire queen in. "You're up late."

"Yeah." Marceline floats through the window.

"Peps, would you get Marceline something red to eat?" Bubblegum asks.

"Of course." The Peppermint nods, but it resembles a bow because it's hard to nod when your head is your entire body. He heads to the fridge and takes out a bowl of strawberries.

"Thanks, Pepper." Marceline says as he brings her the strawberries.

"What are you doing up so late?" Bubblegum asks, sipping her tea.

"Oh, I was wondering if you'd like to come to my place and hang out.. you know, like we used to." Marceline replies.

"I'd love to. I guess I'll just ask Finn to see if he would run my errands today." Bubblegum answers.

"Cool." Marceline says, sucking the color from one of the strawberries.

"Princess, I could run errands for you." Peps suggested again, frying the eggs in the pan.

"No, Peps. I need you to call Finn to see if he'll get the stuff I 's a list on the desk in my room." Bubblegum explains. "Then could you finish painting the walls, tend to the plants I'm growing in the lab, and could you wash my lab coat and sterilize my goggles too?."

"Yes, Princess." The peppermint replies, carefully sliding the fried eggs onto Bubblegum's plate and placing it on the table in front of her.

"C'mon, Bonnie, lets go. I have a new song I want you to hear." Marceline says.

"Okay." Bubblegum agrees and Peppermint butler sees them out.

"You two have fun!" He calls after them, glad that the princess is making time to relax as well as work.

Peps heads back to the kitchen and sighs, seeing the princess's forgotten breakfast. He places the plate in the fridge, not wanting them to go to waste, and decides to eat them later if he has time.

Peppermint Butler leaves the room to grab the list from Bubblegum's desk in the lab before returning and dialing Finn's number on the phone.

—At the treehouse—

Finn, BMO, Jake, and Neptr were racing around their yard playing tag. BMO was it, and was chasing after Neptr when the phone started to ring inside the treehouse.

"I'll get it!" Finn shouts, running into the treehouse as BMO laughs in triumph and tags Neptr.

Finn picks up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Master Finn." Peppermint Butler's voice comes through the phone.

"Oh, hey. What's up, Pep but?" Finn asks.

"Princess Bubblegum was wondering if you would run some errands for her." Peppermint Butler says.

"Yeah, sure!" Finn answers.

"Ah, good. I have the list right here." Peppermint Butler says. Finn hears papers rustling over the phone. "She needs you to get diluted gold, petals from the drooping dreamflower, and a vial of rainbow water from Wishing falls."

"Can do!" Finn says energetically and hangs up. He rushes out of the treehouse. "Jake! Jake!"

"What is it, Finn?" Jake asks, stretching out of BMO's reach. "Who was on the phone?"

"Peppermint Butler, he said that PB needs us to pick up some stuff." Finn replies.

"Oh, don't tell me you agreed to go grocery shopping." Jake groans.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Finn instists.

"When is grocery shopping ever fun?" Jake grumbles. "Do you even know where to find the stuff she wants?"

"No, I hung up after Peppermint Butler said she needs rainbow water from Wishing falls… Hey! Maybe Choose Goose has some of the stuff we need! Or at least knows where we can find it!" Finn exclaims.

"That crazy goose?" Jake huffs. "When we talk to him we always end up on some crazy mission."

"But, isn't that what you want? An adventure?" Finn points out.

"Oh, alright. Let's go find that crazy goose." Jake sighs, growing so Finn can ride on his back.

"Woohoo!" Finn shouts, jumping onto Jake's back. "Bye, BMO! Bye, Neptr!"

"Bye, Finn! Bye, Jake!" BMO shouts and waves them goodbye as Jake carries Finn out of sight.

-At the candy Kingdom-

King of Ooo was frustrated. He had made the announcement that he wanted a butler that morning to the candy citizen, but it had been disappointment after disappointment the whole day. When he went to see the volunteers for the position, there were far less people applying than he thought there would be, and none of them could do what he wanted to do the right way. The first volunteer was a gumdrop girl. While she was ironing his favorite robes, she was distracted by one of the banana guards and had burnt a hole through the center of the robe. The second had been a banana guard who tripped coming in the door and nearly impaled him, but ended up impaling the dresser. One of the applicants nearly set the entire castle on fire. It had been one disaster after another, and King of Ooo was down to his last clean pair of kingly robes.

Currently, the King of Ooo was pacing around the throne room, talking to himself while Crunchy followed at his heels and the Banana guards stood nearby. "What am I going to do? I haven't found a good butler yet, but I need someone to keep my drink warm. Maybe I should ask Finn and Jake? They have to answer to their king, but how would Finn and Jake know a good butler?.."

"Uh, It's too bad you aren't like Princess Bubblegum," One of the Banana guards says dimly, "She always has Peppermint Butler following her around, doing… Uh, what do butlers do again?"

The king ignores the last part of the sentence, but what the Banana guard had said gave him an idea!

"I know, I'll just have Peppermint Butler work for me!" The King of Ooo exclaims.

"Uh, what?" The Banana guards ask, confused.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, your beautifulness." Crunchy says, "Pepper won't leave Princess Bubblegum's-"

"Former Princess Bubblegum." Koo interrupts, "She lost the election, remember? I'm your princess now."

"Yes, Princess," Crunchy corrects, "But Peppermint butler is very loyal to Bubblegum, how are you going to convince him to work for you?"

"Simple!" King of Ooo says, "I'm the princess, after all. I just have to command him to work for me! But I don't want to go near Former Princess Bubblegum.. She gives me that weird, bloodcurdling look.. Oh! I'll just have Finn and Jake get him for me! It's been awhile since I gave them a mission anyways. Crunchy, call Finn and Jake for me, tell them they have a new mission!"

"Okay, your Princessness." Crunchy says and then runs off.

—Somewhere in Ooo—

"Do you see him yet?" Jake asks Finn.

"Nope. Not yet." Finn says, Scanning the horizon.

"Man. Who knew Choose Goose would be so hard to find?" Jake complains.

"Not that hard, look!" Finn points to the distant shape of Choose Goose's market stall. Jake stretches over to the stall and they see Choose Goose standing there waiting for them.

"Choose Goose!" Finn greets the trader excitedly.

"Hello, Finn, hello, Jake. What are you looking for this time?" Choose Goose asks.

"We were wondering if you had any diluted gold, or maybe petals from a drooping Dreamflower, or maybe even rainbow water from wishing falls?" Finn asks.

"Hmm, I don't have what you seek, because all those items are rather unique." the Goose rhymes.

"Do you know where to find them?" Finn asks.

"Yes, I believe I know where those items are, but you might have to travel far." Choose goose answers, "In the land of Ice and Snow, for that is where you first must go, diluted gold lies in between the mountain's teeth, that is the first thing you must seek.

"Next in your quest you must travel some more, to the Wildberry kingdom to complete your next chore, find the flower shop run by a plum, then you'll already be more than halfway done.

"Then, to find the last thing you seek, find a Rainicorn, colorful and sleek." The Goose instructs.

"Oh, cool! Thanks, man." Finn says.

"Good luck as you follow my rhyme, I hope to see you again next time!" The goose says as they leave.

"Did you understand any of that?" Jake asks Finn.

"Well, I figure that the phrase 'diluted gold lies between the mountain's teeth,' means that Ice King must have some diluted gold. He's got that face-shaped window in his mountain." Fin shrugs.

"But it doesn't have teeth." Jake objects.

"Well, sometimes I see icicles hanging off the top that look like teeth." Finn says.

"Fair enough. Lets go ask the ice king if he has any diluted gold." Jake shrugs.

—Marceline's cave—

Bubblegum is sitting on Marceline's couch. Marceline had just finished playing her new song.

"That was a good song, Marcy." Bubblegum compliments.

"Thanks, Bonnie." Marceline says, sitting on the couch next to Bubblegum. "Soo, what've you been up to?"

"Well, actually, I've been working on that cure again." Bubblegum says. "You remember, the one for vampirism?.."

"Oh. Right. The cure." Marceline says flatly, "Well, I'm fine with being a vampire. I already told you I don't need to be cured."

"Well, will you at least consider it?" Bubblegum asks. "For science?"

"Ugh, fine." Marceline groans, seeing the expression on Bubblegum's face. "I'll 'consider' it later." Then adds, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to say yes."

"Okay, thanks Marcy."

—At the castle—

The King Of Ooo was in a good mood, so he was reclining on his throne waiting for Finn and Jake when Crunchy came in.

"Ah, Crunchy, are Finn and Jake here?" The king asks cheerfully.

"No, they weren't picking up." Crunchy explains.

"Weren't picking up?" Koo explains. "What do you mean they weren't picking up?"

"I think they might be adventuring somewhere else right now." Crunchy adds. "Why don't you send Banana guards instead?"

"That's a great idea, Crunchy! One that only a princess as wonderful as I could've thought of." King Of Ooo replies.

"Uh, what?" Says one of the Banana guards stationed nearby. "But, uh, didn't Crunchy think of the idea?"

"Banana guards," Koo says, ignoring the one banana guard's statement, "I need you to go out and find Peppermint Butler and bring him to me."

"What?" The three Banana guards look confused. One of them asks, "Did he commit a crime?"

"No."

"Then why is he in trouble?" One of the other guards asks.

"He's not in trouble, I want to talk to him." Koo tries to explain.

"Then why aren't you going to the cabin?" The last banana guard asks.

"Because I'm the Princess." King Of Ooo sighs. "Just bring Peppermint Butler here."

"What if he doesn't want to come?" The second Banana guard questions.

"Tell him-" King of Ooo starts, but then gives up and instead says, "You know what, just use your spears or something!"

"Oh. Okay." The three Banana Guards march out to complete their task.

"Were they always this frustrating?" Koo mumbles to himself, but then turns his attention to his number one concern; himself. He leans back on his throne and waits for the arrival of Peppermint Butler.

—At the Cabin—

Peppermint Butler was working on painting the walls white. He had watered Bubblegum's plants already and was halfway done with the last coat of paint for the walls. After a few more brush strokes, he decided to take a break and wash Bubblegum's lab coat. Humming to himself, he climbs down the ladder into the lab. He has to grab a step stool to reach the top of the coat to take it off the hook, but does so swiftly. Then he hurries back up the ladder, not knowing when Bubblegum and maybe Marceline would be coming back, he wanted to have all his chores done before then.

He hears a knock on the door, so he goes to answer it. He's surprised to see three banana guards standing outside the door. He says, "Good afternoon. The Princess isn't here right now, but she should be back tomorrow."

"Uh, actually, Peppermint Butler," one of the banana guards says, "We're here for you."

Peps nearly drops Bubblegum's lab coat. "What?"

"The king told us to bring you to the castle." One of the other guards says. "He says he wants to talk to you."

"But I haven't done anything! Besides, I have chores to do." Peppermint Butler protests. The banana guards look at one another, confused.

"But.. we're supposed to bring you to the castle." The guard repeats dumbly. The second guard puts his hand on his spear, as if it will magically give him the answer. Peppermint Butler notices the Banana man's grip on the spear. "What did the king say to do if he didn't want to go to the castle again?"

"I think he said to use our spears." The first guard says helpfully.

"Fine. Let's see what this is all about." The peppermint sighs, taking pity on the banana men, and not wanting them to attack him, although they would even be able to land a single blow on him. He puts the lab coat down on a nearby chair neatly, telling himself he'd be back soon to finish the job.

He obediently followed the banana guards toward the castle, wondering what awaited him there.


	3. Chapter 3

I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, I tried to make that last chapter a little longer, and I'll try to do the same with this one, but we'll see how it turns out. I am aware that the last chapter had a strange cut off point, but I was really excited to post it. Also I noticed several spelling errors in my last chapter, so I edited and updated it a few times. I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

—Chapter 3—

Finn and Jake were on their way to the Ice King's mountain, they were almost there when Jake asks, "So what does diluted gold even look like?"

"I dunno." Finn shrugs.

"What? Then how are we supposed to get it?!" Jake demands.

"I was just going to ask the Ice King if he had any diluted gold." Finn explains casually.

"That's your plan? Oh brother." Jake rolls his eyes. "What if he says no?"

"I'm sure we can figure it out." Finn assures Jake as they arrive at the Ice King's home. They can hear Ice King's drumming echoing through his cave. "Knock knock, Ice King!"

"Well, at least we know he's here." Jake remarks.

"Do do do do, yeaaah!" Ice King's voice sings, slightly out of tune and scratchy. He looks up to see Finn and Jake and ceases his drumming. "Finn! Jake! My two best buds! Did you come all this way just to hear my rad drumming?"

"Uh, not today Ice King." Finn replies awkwardly. "We came to see if you had any diluted gold. PB needs some for something she's working on."

"Princess Bubblegum needs diluted gold?" The Ice King asks, "I have plenty of that, oh!I'll give it to her as a present and then maybe she'll love me!"

"Uh, surrree.." Jake says awkwardly, then whispers to Finn, "Do you think that this is a good idea, bro?"

Ice king hurries excitedly out of the room, laughing. "I'll get the wrapping paper!"

—Candy Kingdom—

Peppermint Butler walks into the throne room of the palace, where King of Ooo is waiting on the throne, drinking a cold glass of lemonade. The king leans forward on the throne which used to be Bubblegum's.

"Peppermint Butler! You're here at last." King of Ooo says. "Banana guards, you are dismissed."

"What do you want, Princess?" The peppermint replies irritably, wanting to get back to his chores that Bubblegum assigned him.

"Well, I was thinking the other day, and I realized I was missing some of the assistance former Princess Bubblegum had, then I realized what it was; I don't have a butler! So I announced that I needed a butler and several candy citizens applied for the position." King of Ooo replies.

"Please get to the point." Peppermint Butler requests flatly.

"Oh, okay. Well, anyways, none of them were fit to serve as my butler or as my maid." King of Ooo finishes.

"Did you call me here just to tell me that story?" Peps asks, bristling.

"No, I've got some good news for you!" King of Ooo responds, "I was thinking that you already know the castle and you already know your way around the castle, besides you worked so well for Bubblegum… so I want you to be my new butler!"

"What?!" Peppermint Butler replies loudly in disbelief. "You can't expect me to work for you! I'm loyal to Princess Bubblegum and Princess Bubblegum alone!"

"Former Princess." King of Ooo corrects. "And because I'm the new princess, I can just order you to work for me."

"I'll never work for you, man!" Peppermint Butler retorts.

"In that case I'll just have you locked in the dungeon for disobeying me and wait until you agree to work for me." King of Ooo points out. "So, what'll it be? Foolish loyalty to a former princess locked up in my dungeon forever or serving me, the new, better princess here in the castle?"

Peppermint Butler doesn't answer, furious. He wouldn't be able to finish his tasks either way, and there was no way he'd work for such an unmathmatical man as King of Ooo. He answers finally, "I will not work for you."

"Oh, well maybe you'll change your mind after a few hours in my dungeon." King of Ooo shrugs. "Banana guards, take Peppermint Butler to the dungeon!"

"What did he do?" A banana guard asks. King of Ooo sighs.

"Just take him to the dungeon." King of Ooo instructs.

"But.. if he didn't do anything, why is he going to the dungeon?" The banana guard questions.

"Please, just take him to the dungeon." King of Ooo replies, then adds, "He took a boat out after nine."

"Oh." The banana guard nods, "C'mon, Peppermint Butler."

Peppermint Butler follows the banana guard, silently plotting to himself about how to get himself out of the mess he'd ended up in.

—

Finn and Jake stroll through Wildberry kingdom casually, looking for the flower shop.

"I'm glad we wrote that apology letter to Wildberry Princess." Finn says, looking at the shops.

"Me too." Jake says, then stops and points to a flower shop. "There! A flower shop!"

"Nice work, Jake! Now we just need to see if it's run by a plum." Finn exclaims as they run to the door. They enter the shop and look around. "Rats! I don't see a plum."

"I think.. no. That's a grape." Jake looks around. "I guess this isn't the place then."

"What are you looking for?" Comes a voice from behind them, Finn and Jake turn and see a short, wrinkled plum wearing reading glasses behind them.

"A plum!" Finn and Jake both shout before Finn coughs and adds. "I mean, we're looking for the plum who owns the shop to see if we can get petals from a dreamflower?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but we only have one dreamflower left.. it's over here.." The plum leads them to a table with a small plant with drooping, faded blue petals. "It's kind of wilted, but if you still want it, you can have it for free. No one else wants it anyways."

"Gee, thanks!" Finn exclaims, carefully picking up the wilted plant. "Now all we need is the Rainbow water, and Choose goose said we should ask a Rainicorn."

"I know! We'll just ask Lady." Jake shrugs. "I've been meaning to visit her anyways. if we go now we should make it to Pb's place by sundown."

"Cool! Let's go!" Finn says.

—

"Thanks for hanging out with me, Peebs." Marceline says as she and Bubblegum leave her cave.

"It was fun." Bubblegum replies with a smile. "Thanks for walking me home."

"No problem." Marceline shrugs, floating alongside PB.

"Hey! Marceline! Bubblegum!" A shout comes from the girl's left and they turn to see Ice King flying towards them.

"Oh no, not him." Bubblegum sighs and Marceline elbows her.

"Hi, Simon! What's up?" Marceline asks as the Ice King lands next to them, holding a messily wrapped box.

"I've been looking all over for Bubblegum to give her this!" Ice King replies, handing over the box to Bubblegum. "You weren't at the cabin so I thought maybe I should ask Marcy if she knew where you were because you're like best friends."

"Oh.. thank you, Ice King." Bubblegum says hesitantly and then opens the package to reveal a lump of greenish-bronze metal.

"It's diluted gold, Finn said you wanted some, and I had plenty, so I thought it would make a good gift and bring us closer together." Ice King explains, "and then eventually you'll become my girlfriend and after a couple dates we'd become engaged and you'll be my wife!"

"I just needed this for an experiment I'm working on, so thanks, but I'll pass on the last part of your plan." Bubblegum says, trying to be polite because of Marceline. She tucks the box under her arm.

"You'll see, Princess, someday you'll understand your love for me and I'll help you get there." Ice King continues, then something dings and he says, "Oops, it's time to feed Gunter. He gets cranky when he doesn't get fed. See you guys later."

"Oh, bye, Simon!" Marceline waves at the Ice King as he flies off towards the Ice kingdom. Bubblegum quietly watches him leave.

"Well, at least I got the diluted gold I need. That was nice of him." Bubblegum says after a short while of standing with Marceline silently.

"Yeah, Simon isn't such a bad guy when he's not chasing princesses." Marceline agrees, and they continue heading back to Bubblegum's cabin.

—

"I'm glad that Lady had that Rainbow water." Finn says, carrying the drooping dreamflower and also holding a bottle of rainbow colored water. They were walking up to Pb's cabin and the sun was setting behind it.

"Yeah, I guess I forgot that Rainicorns drink it." Jake replies. "Hey look, there's Pb and Marceline."

Finn looks to where Jake is pointing and sees Marceline and Bubblegum coming towards them. He greets them, "Hey, Marceline! Hi, Pb!"

"Hi, Finn, Jake." Bubblegum replies, Finn sees the box under Pb's arm.

"Hey, what's in the box?" Finn asks.

"Oh, Ice King found us and gave me some diluted gold. He said something about you telling him I needed it." Bubblegum explains.

"Oh yeah! We got the other stuff too! First we went to see is Choose goose had some, but he didn't, but he told us where we could get them. He said Ice King had diluted gold, we found the plant in Wildberry kingdom, and Lady had the rainbow water you needed!" Finn adds excitedly.

"Oh, cool! Thanks guys!" Bubblegum answers, taking the bottle and the plant from Finn. "I just need these for one of the experiments I'm working on. Anyways, you two should probably go home and get some rest. It's going to be dark soon."

"Oh, okay, Pb. That's cool." Finn replies, trying not to act too disappointed. "We'll see you tomorrow then."

"Sounds good. Bye, Finn." Bubblegum says.

"See you later, guys." Marceline waves as Finn and Jake walk back down the hill.

"Well, at least we have a story to tell BMO." Jake says, then adds, "Don't worry though, Bro. We'll come back tomorrow to see how Bubblegum's experiment is going."

"Okay, bro."

—

"Soo, do you want to come inside for awhile before you go?" Bubblegum asks Marceline. "I'll have Peps make some tea and we can talk a little before I go to bed."

"Well, I guess I have a few minutes." Marceline replies, and follows Bubblegum into the house.

The house is dark and quiet. Bubblegum frowns and turns on a lightswitch. "Peps? Peps, are you here?"

"He's not in the lab, or in your bedroom." Marceline says, looking through doorways. Bubblegum notices her lab coat and goggles on the floor and goes to pick them up.

"This isn't washed, and he was supposed to finish painting the walls." Bubblegum notes. "This isn't like him to not finish his chores."

"Maybe something came up and he had to go off somewhere." Marceline suggests. "Whatever the case, I'm sure he'll be back in the morning. You'd better get some sleep in the meantime Bonnie."

"Alright." Bubblegum sighs.

"I have to go, but I'll be back tomorrow to check up on you, okay?" Marceline says.

"Okay. I'll get some sleep. See you tomorrow, Marcy."

"See you tomorrow, Bonnibel."

—

After a night in the Candy Kingdom's dungeon, Peppermint Butler was regretting not bringing his red chalk. He hadn't been been locked in the dungeon since Lemongrab tried to rule the candy kingdom, and he wasn't liking it any more than he had then. If he had his red chalk he might have been able to find a ritual to help him escape.

Peps sighs and looks around the cell. The sky was getting lighter, and he hadn't been able to sleep knowing he hadn't finished his chores the day before. He hoped Bubblegum wasn't going to be angry with him, he was pretty sure she wouldn't be worried, after all, he was only her butler, and a candy citizen.

Peppermint Butler stares at his hands, then it gives him an idea. He carefully breaks off a small red piece of himself, not taking off the whole stripe, but taking off more than he planned, and tries using it to draw on the floor. To his delight, it works and he begins drawing a pentagram.

He gets about halfway done before he hears footsteps approaching. He stops drawing and moves to the front of the cell. A banana guard comes in.

"Uh, Peppermint Butler? The Princess wants to see you." The banana guard says, unlocking the door. "I'm supposed to take you to him."

"Fine." Peppermint Butler huffs, stepping out of the cell and following the guard. He knew the King was going to order him to work as his butler again. He also knew if he agreed he would be being disloyal to Bubblegum, but if he refused he would be thrown back in the dungeon until he agreed or until Princess Bubblegum took back the throne. But who knows when that would be. She had said so herself when she stormed out of the castle that she might never rule the Candy Kingdom again.

Maybe, Peps thinks, if I agree to work for King Of Ooo, I can collect data for Princess Bubblegum so that she can take back the Candy Kingdom. King of Ooo calls on Finn and Jake from time to time, so I could transfer the information to them so they can pass it on to the Princess.

Still debating his plan, he arrives at the King Of Ooo's bedroom, and the Banana guard waits outside.

King of Ooo is relaxing on his bed in his underwear with cucumbers in his eyes. He lifts one up and moves looks at Peppermint Butler. "Have you thought it over or do you need more time in the dungeon?"

Still not sure, Peps thinks through his plan once more and then hesitantly answers, "Fine. I'll work for you."

"Mathematical! I knew you'd come around after a night in the dungeon!" King Of Ooo exclaims, he notices the piece of Peppermint Butler's candy in the peppermint's hand and takes it saying, "And I see you've brought me a snack already! You knew what I wanted even before you accepted the job! This is perfect! Now, be a good butler and bring me some iced tea."

Peppermint Butler grumbles something as he leaves, but does as he's told, hoping his plan would work.


	4. Chapter 4

How are you liking the story so far? The pace has picked up a bit since the first chapter. I'm sorry about any spelling errors, I already proofread it, but I'll be double checking after I post it to make sure. Also, I changed the rating to K+ recently, but if anyone thinks it should be rated differently, please let me know. :) I hope you enjoy this chapter :D

—Chapter 4—

Finn, Jake, and Bmo were having breakfast, Jake had made pancakes and Finn had just doused his in maple syrup.

"So, are you going to see what King of Ooo wanted yesterday?" BMO asks Finn and Jake.

"What? What are you talking about, BMO?" Finn replies before stuffing a forkful of pancake in his mouth.

"I told you last night when you got back that King of Ooo wanted to see you two, but you were out doing stuff for Princess Bubblegum." BMO explains.

"I don't remember that at all!" Jake argues.

"It was right after you had that big pillow fight and before you fell asleep on the couch." BMO answers.

"Oh, we must not have heard you. Sorry, BMO." Finn replies. "We'll go check it out right after breakfast. Then we can go see PB."

"Okay, man." Jake agrees, then stretches himself so he can swallow his entire stack of pancakes all at once. "Sounds good."

—***—

Bubblegum woke up mid-morning, she stretched and changed into her white t-shirt and her leggings. She calls loudly, "Peps? Peps, are you here?"

She waits for a minute but gets no response, so she heads to the kitchen to find something to eat. She discovers the plate of cold fried eggs in the fridge that she'd forgotten to eat the day before, so she heated them up and ate them, deciding that she would work in her lab until Marceline, Finn, or Peppermint Butler arrived.

—***—

Finn and Jake arrived at the candy kingdom, ready to visit King of Ooo. Finn was dressed normally, but Jake had decided to wear the armor that King of Ooo had him wear when they were tracking down Neddie, the candy dragon who made the juice flow through the city.

They approached the castle, looking around to see if anything was out of place or destroyed, but they couldn't spot anything.

"Do you think he's going to send us on another mushroom chase?" Jake asks.

"I dunno. Maybe." Finn answers, "Hey look, it's Starchy! Hi, Starchy!"

"Hi, Finn! Hi, Jake!" Starchy greets them.

"What are you up to?" Finn asks.

"I'm on my way to buy a new shovel, my last one broke mid-shift last night, and I can't get much done without a good shovel." Starchy explains.

"Oh, well, good luck finding a good shovel. We'll see you later." Jake says.

"See you later." Starchy replies, and walks away.

"To the castle then, I guess." Finn says to Jake.

"To the castle." Jake repeats, stretching them both the rest of the way to the castle. They walk into the throne room, and seeing that King of Ooo isn't there, they ask one of the Banana guards.

"Hey, do you know where the Princess is?" Finn asks.

"Oh sure, he's sunbathing on the roof." The banana guard replies.

"Thanks, man." Finn adds. He and Jake take the stairs to the roof and see King of Ooo on a lawn chair in swim trunks and sunglasses holding a trifold mirror. "Hey! King of Ooo!"

"What? Oh! Finn and Jake! What are you doing here?" Koo asks.

"BMO told us you called us yesterday while we were out, so we came to check out if y'all need our help." Finn explains.

"Well, the problem resolved itself, so I don't need your services right now." King of Ooo explains. "BUTLER, more lemonade!"

Finn and Jake are surprised when Peppermint butler comes out of the castle carrying a tray with a glass of lemonade on it. "Here you go, sir."

"Peppermint Butler?! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be working for Bubblegum?" Finn asks.

Peppermint Butler opens his mouth to reply, but King of Ooo interrupts him before he can say anything. "He works for me now. Seeing as I've taken everything else from former Princess Bubblegum, I thought it suitable that I take her butler too. He already agreed to work for me anyway."

"But.." Peppermint Butler starts, but King of Ooo interjects again.

"Go get me some fresh cookies, butler, I want chocolate chip, and they have to be warm and gooey still!" King of Ooo orders, Peppermint Butler hurries off obediently and Jake notices part of one Peppermint Butler's stripes is missing, and then sees that the King is eating it. "Anyways, I'm sure plenty of people need your help out there, and if you see former Princess Bubblegum, tell her her butler is mine now, just like the rest of the candy kingdom!"

"Uh, Okay. Bye then." Finn says, and he and Jake head back down into the castle. "I don't think PB is going to be too happy about this when we tell her."

"I don't get why Peppermint Butler suddenly started working for Koo, I mean, he was working for PB yesterday morning when he called you about those things PB needed." Jake points out. "And I'm pretty sure that King of Ooo was eating Peppermint Butler's stripe/"

"Yeah, its weird." Finn agrees, "But we're going to see her anyways, so we might as well tell her."

"Yeah," Jake agrees, "Whats the worst that could happen?"

—*—20 minutes later at Bubblegum's cabin—*—

"He's WHAT?!" Bubblegum shouts.

"Peppermint Butler is working for King of Ooo now, we saw him there this morning serving King of Ooo/" Fin repeats quickly, then adds in a smaller, quieter voice, "Please don't kill mr."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT PEPS WOULD DITCH ME FOR THAT DINGWAD! HE DIDN'T EVEN FINISH ALL THE TASKS I ASKED HIM TO DO!" Bubblegum shouts in disbelief. "IF HE COMES BACK HERE AGAIN.. UGH! I THOUGHT HE WAS SMARTER THAN THAT!"

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Finn asks Bubblegum.

"Yeah.. actually. Could you go into town and get a new bucket or this paint for me?" Bubblegum replies, calming down.

"Sure thing, PB." Finn answers loyally.

"Thanks, Finn. You're a lifesaver." Bubblegum walks over and gives him a small kiss on the forehead. Finn blushes a little and Jake gives him a thumbs up. Pb hands Finn a sheet of paper. "This is the color I need, I might need a new paint roller too because Peppermint Butler, the traitor, left his out so the paint hardened in a coat over the brush, so now it's going to be almost impossible to clean, and I robably won't be able to use it again."

"Okay, PB, we'll go get you your paint and roller." Fin says determinedly, and he and Jake run out of the cabin to do their task.

After Finn and Jake leave,and Bubble gum is sure they are gone, she lets out a furious scream. She was furious and disappointed with Peppermint Butler. She thought that he was better than that, after all, he was the only candy citizen who went with her when she left, and he'd been by her side for over a hundred years.

There was a knock on the door. Bubblegum went to answer it and flung the door open to see Marceline floating outside, dressed in her sun clothes.

"Woah, hey, Peebs, are you okay?" Marceline asks, floating into the safe shade of the house. "Did Peppermint Butler not come back?"

"No, and he'd better not if he knows what's good for him." Bubblegum answers angrily.

"What? Tell me what happened." Marceline says.

"Finn and Jake came here from the Candy kingdom and saw that Peppermint traitor working for that fraud, King of Ooo. And not only that but apparently he agreed to work for King of Ooo." Bubblegum explains quickly. "And that wasn't even the last of it! Peppermint Butler gave that phony king a piece of his own stripe! Jake saw him eating it!"

"Do you want me to go to the castle to give him a piece of my mind and drink all the red from his stripes?" Marceline suggests.

"No, but if he comes here again he's going to regret it." Bubblegum promises herself. (*Sorry for the interruption, but I'm going to explain Pb's reaction to the news a little bit at the end of this chapter if anyone is confused about it.)

—**—

King of Ooo is back in his throne room, smiling to himself. He was thinking about what a great idea he'd had when he decided to have Peppermint Butler work for him. Not only did he get a decent man-servant, but he also got to rub his victory in Bubblegum's face once again. He now had the Candy Kingdom, the castle, and all her candy citizens including her 'loyal' butler.

He chuckles to himself. It was good to be princess. He calls out, "Butler!"

Peppermint Butler comes rushing in. "Yes, Princess?"

"I'm in the mood for something celebratory. Tonight we're going to celebrate! I need you to go get confetti and streamers, and cake, don't forget cake! I want my face on the cake, and invite everyone in the kingdom!" King of Ooo announces grandly.

"Yes, my lord." Peppermint Butler says. He'd been serving King of Ooo the whole day, but so far he'd only confirmed what he already knew. King of Ooo was full of himself, a con man, and enjoyed rubbing his victories in his opponent's faces, in other words, a natural politician.

Peppermint Butler hurried out of the room, King of Ooo had him running all over the kingdom to get him what he wanted. There hadn't been time to talk to Finn and Jake to explain his plan, and he was irritated with King Of Ooo for stealing and eating the piece of his stripe.

_Maybe I can sneak out after King Of Ooo's party tonight_, Peps thinks, _then I can tell Princess Bubblegum my plan..._

Peps continues to plan out his escape while he hastens to get King Of Ooo's party supplies.

—**—

"Haha, I win again, Neptr!" BMO exclaims, setting down his last pair of cards.

"Aw, could we play one more round, BMO?" Neptr asks, determined to not have been beaten at the game Go Fish nine times in a row.

"Okay." BMO shrugs, mixing the cards around and placing them in the center. They each picked their hand of cards.

"Do you have any.. Pufferfish?" Neptr asks BMO.

"Nope! Go fish!" BMO shouts cheerfully after looking at his hand. Just then, the doorbell rang. BMO gets up and runs over to the door. He opens it and sees Peppermint Butler standing there, holding three invitations.

"Hello, Master BMO, are Finn and Jake here?" Peppermint Butler asks politely.

"No, they went to see the Princess Of Ooo, and then visit someone." BMO replies.

"Oh, well, I have four invitations to a party in the candy kingdom tonight. The Princess wants everyone to be there at the castle." Peppermint Butler explains, he holds out the invitations. "Can you make sure that Finn and Jake get their invitations to the party, Master BMO?"

"Okay." BMO nods, "Why are there three?"

"I accidentally wrote an extra invitation, in case you'd like to attend." Peppermint Butler answers.

"Really?" BMO says excitedly, "I can go to the party too?"

"If you wish to attend." The peppermint replies simply.

BMO notices the missing piece of Peppermint Butler's stripe and points to it, saying, "What happened to your stripe? It got chipped!"

"It's a long story, I was hoping to tell Finn and Jake about it, but it can wait, seeing as they aren't here right now." Peppermint Butler assures BMO.

"Oh! Please tell me! I could tell it to Finn and Jake!" BMO suggests helpfully, Peppermint Butler thinks about this for a moment.

"No, it's nothing, but could you tell Finn and Jake that's there's an explanation for what's going on. I just didn't have time to explain it earlier." Peps answers shortly.

"Ooh, so it's a secret!" BMO exclaims energetically.

"Yes. I'm late for setting up the party decorations, I will see you later, Master BMO." Peppermint Butler excuses himself politely and hurries off towards the Candy Kingdom.

BMO turns around and runs back to Neptr. "Neptr! I have a new game I want to play!"

"Okay, BMO!" Neptr agrees.

—**—

"Pb was really determined to get the walls painted." Finn remarks to Jake as they're heading back to the treehouse. "Even though she forgot to put down the paper to protect the floor when she started."

"I wish she hadn't painted me too." Jake replies, looking at the splotches of paint on his back.

"She was just distracted. Pep-but did pretty much betray her." Finn points out.

"Yeah that's true." Jake says. He spots BMO and Neptr running around the treehouse as they get closer. "I wonder what those two have been up to."

"Jake! Finn!" BMO runs up to them waving the invitations. "We've been invited to a party in the Candy Kingdom tonight."

"Oh. That's cool, I guess." Finn says, taking an invitation from BMO.

"Can we go? Please can we go?" BMO pleads.

"What do you think, Finn?" Jake asks.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. We wouldn't be missing out on much, Pb said she wanted space anyways, so I don't see why not." Finn answers with a shrug.

"Yaaaaay!" BMO cheers, and runs inside.

-In the evening-

As Finn, Jake, and BMO approach the Candy Castlethey hear loud music and see bright lights shining through the windows. They enter and see almost all the Candy citizens inside, plus a few other people, including LSP, dancing and wandering around, talking to each other.

"Finn, Jake! So glad you could make it! And with your little robot friend too!" King of Ooo exclaims as he and Toronto come up behind them.

"I am not a robot, I am a little living boy." BMO tells the princess.

"Sure, sure." King of Ooo says hurridley, waving BMO away. BMO pouts, but then sees LSP and runs over to talk to her. King of Ooo continues, "Like I was saying, it wouldn't be a party without Ooo's two greatest heroes."

"Oh. Thanks." Finn replies half heartedly.

"How about some punch to celebrate?" King of Ooo suggests. He claps twice and Peppermint Butler hurriedly brings three cups of punch to them on a tray. Finn and Jake both pick up a cup of punch after King of Ooo picks up his. King of Ooo adds, "Go get some more ice, it looks like our guests are running out."

Finn watches Peppermint Butler Finn off. Then Jake says, "So, Princess, what's this party for? Is it someone's birthday or something?"

"No, we're celebrating my victory from the election!" King of Ooo exclaims.

"But didn't you already do that?" Finn points out.

"Yes, but you see, this time I have all the candy citizens!" The Princess exclaims, "And Bubblegum doesn't have any, so that makes my victory complete!"

Finn glares at King Of Ooo, but the prideful Princess doesn't notice. Jake stretches out an arm to keep Finn calm, whispering, "Keep it together, bro."

"Besides, my newest man-servant knows all the coolest people!" The King adds, then whispers, "I heard a rumor that he might even know Death himself! I wonder if I could get him to be my bodyguard.."

"Hey, Princess, it's time for karaoke." Toronto says, pointing to somewhere on the far side of the room.

"Oh! I'll see you later, Finn and Jake, I have ballads to me I want to sing!" King Of Ooo exclaims and then hurries off to sing Karaoke.

"Ugh! Did you hear him? Talking about PB like that! What a butt!" Finn growls once the elected princess is out of earshot.

"Woah, take it easy buddy." Jake warns Finn, his arm returning to its normal length. "I'm sure PB will find a good way to deal with that dirtbag. Just play it cool for now."

"You're right, Jake." Finn sighs. "I'll just play it cool until PB beats his butt out of the candy kingdom."

"Whatever floats your boat." Jake shrugs.

"I don't have a boat, Jake." Finn replies.

"You know what, nevermind." Jake says. "C'mon, lets go get some snacks, my stomach alarm is going off."

Finn laughs, "Okay, bro."

—**—

While Peppermint Butler walked around the party serving punch, he thought about his escape plan.

He had planned his escape while serving the King of Ooo throughout the day. He planned to slip away in the middle of the party, after all the guests had arrived. He would serve a couple drinks to make sure King of Ooo saw him working at the party and then go to get ice. Instead of getting ice, however, he would sneak out and go see Princess Bubblegum, and he was sure King of Ooo would be too distracted by all his guests to notice that his new butler had slipped away.

Peppermint Butler is snapped out of his thoughts when an inconsiderate guest tosses their cup behind them and it hits the peppermint on the head. He frowns, but continues with his jobless .

King of Ooo was over by the candy Karaoke machine, singing his own songs about how he was the greatest princess in Ooo to the tunes of older candy classics. Pep's eye twitches and he can barely stop himself from cursing the fake princess with his shadow demon magic. He would let Princess Bubblegum have her revenge first.

"Hey, Peppermint Butler!" Finn calls from somewhere behind him. Peps turns and sees Finn heading towards him. The peppermint is relieved to see Finn and have a chance to explain himself.

"Would you like some punch, Master Finn?" Peps says politely, holding up his tray of punch cups,

"No. What I'd like to know is why you quit working for Pb and started working for that jerk; Princess Of Ooo!" Finn demands.

"It's not what it looks like-" Peps starts.

"Really? Cuz what it looks it is that you're being a total jerk to Peebs by running off to work for Princess Of Ooo!" Finn interrupts.

"I tried to tell you what happened, but that dirtbag King Of Ooo wouldn't let me!" Peps tells Finn. "King Of Ooo brought me here to work for him! If I said no he'd lock me in the dungeon! I agreed to work for him so I could find out how Pb could overthrow him, I'd never ever ditch her like that!"

"Wait, hold on," Finn says, trying to understand what's going on, "So you aren't really working for King Of Ooo?"

"Of course he's working for me!" King Of Ooo says suddenly, walking up to Finn and Peppermint Butler, startling them. "Why wouldn't he be? I mean, if he wasn't he'd be in the dungeon right now for treason to his princess."

"Yes indeed, your princessness." Peppermint Butler replies, forcing himself not to send King Of Ooo to the shadow world right then and there.

"Come on, Finn! Join the party! I see Jake and your little robot friend dancing over there, why don't you join them?" King of Ooo suggests, leading Finn away.

Peppermint Butler sends King of Ooo a furious glance from behind his back, and then decides that it's time for him to leave. He set the tray down on a nearby table and looks around. He casually wanders through the crowd and slips out the entrance quietly.

All of the candy kingdom was at the party, including the banana guards, so Peppermint Butler didn't have to worry about running into anyone. Despite this, he still runs as fast as his short candy legs can carry him towards Bubblegum's cabin without slowing until he reached the butterscotch lake.

"Curse these short.. peppermint...legs.." Peps pants, jogging the rest of the way around the butterscotch lake and up the hill. He reaches the door and hesitates before settling on doing a light knock on the door. There are footsteps from inside and Bubblegum opens the door and looks around and then down at him while he says,"Princess, I'm-gah!"

Bubblegum didn't even wait for Peps to finish his sentence before hurling her sleeping mask at him, it bounces harmlessly off his candy skull. Then Pb starts shouting, "WHAT THE FLIP, PEPS? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST COME BACK AFTER DITCHING ME TO WORK FOR THAT SELF-CENTERED DIPWAD KING OF OOO!"

"I can explain!" Peppermint butler says, but Pb interrupts him.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE BETTER THAN THAT! I THOUGHT YOU KNEW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GOOD RULER AND A BAD RULER, BUT YOU'VE SHOWN ME THAT YOU'RE JUST AS IGNORANT AND IDIOTIC AS ALL THE OTHER CANDY PEOPLE!" Bubblegum shouts furiously. "YOU DIDN'T EVEN FINISH YOUR CHORES!"

"It's not what you think!" Peps tries to explain with a squeak.

"NOT WHAT I THINK? YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I THINK? I THINK YOU RAN OFF TO WORK FOR THE KING OF OOO AND DITCHED ME!" Bubblegum shouts at him. "I THINK YOU'RE AN UNFAITHFUL, LAZY, DIRTBAG OF A BUTLER!"

"Please my Lady.." The Peppermint squeaks.

"I DON'T WANT YOUR EXCUSES! AND YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE? YOU'RE FIRED!" PB picks up the nearest object she could find, which was a large wooden cooking spoon, and hurled it at Peppermint butler. "GET OUT OF MY SIGHTS YOU-YOU MOMO!"

Bubblegum picked up another nearby object, this time one of Finn's shoes (he'd forgotten a pair when he was visiting once), and hurled it at Peppermint Butler. Alarmed and confused, Peps dodges the shoe and runs towards the nearby woods to find a quiet place to clear his head. Bubblegum's furious shouts chase him past the outdoor clock and farther and farther into the woods until he can't hear her anymore.

"Curse..these.. short candy.. legs," Peps pants, slowing to a stop. He sits down to catch his breath, trying to make sense of what had just happened.


End file.
